It’s really very shocking and heartbreaking for us that innocent civilians, including women and children, are being killed in meaningless fighting in the war-torn Afghanistan. The war between Afghan military and Taliban forces have intensified so much over capturing strategically important areas that thousands of civilians are now in life risk being trapped in the line of fire.
So far as we know through international media, the Taliban forces are reported to have captured most of the provincial capitals. In most parts of the country, there has been relentless gunfire, air strikes and mortar attacks in densely populated areas.
As street fighting begins, now the houses are being targeted by Taliban militants and residents are suffering fatal injuries. It is no secret that Taliban have unleashed a reign of terror across the Afghanistan in the name of ‘Jihad’. It seems Taliban would unlikely agree to a ceasefire at this moment.
As fighting escalated in urban areas, thousands of Afghan people have been passing their nights on the streets or under trees without food and warm cloths. The Taliban are now more powerful. So, they are busy in revenge killings. The President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani has no other way but to accuse the US President Joe Biden for his country’s deteriorating situation.
Earlier, President Richard M. Nixon had to take responsibility for the Vietnam War as he knew that ending the war honorably was essential to his success in the presidency. The last American troop left Vietnam soil on March 7, 1975 after ending an unnecessary 14 years of bloody war.
But leaving Vietnam and abandoning Afghanistan are not the same. Rather the reasons are quite different. When China became full communist in 1949 and took control of North Vietnam, the US feared that communism would spread to South Vietnam and then the rest of Asia. So, the US decided to send money, supplies and military men to help the government of South Vietnam.
Again, there is another difference between the Vietnamese and Afghan people. Vietnam ultimately managed to get rid of prolonged civil war quickly going under the umbrella of communism. But it seems not possible for Afghan people to get a solution. They have already initiated a full-scale civil war in their own land.
After staying two decades, the US along with NATO has planned to complete the withdrawal of their troops by this August 31. Whatever it may be, the Biden administration would have to show some reasonable argument to their citizens for what cause they left Afghan people unguarded and defenseless taking a U-turn wasting taxpayers’ money of over US$ 2 trillion.
The world community also must get an explanation about the death of 2, 40,000 Afghan people in the battle for two decades. The US being a global leader cannot play such a casual role regarding Afghanistan risking lives of millions. If Taliban comes to power in Afghanistan, it will also embolden the spread extreme fanaticism as reckless killers.
Instead of thinking of America’s own self narrow interest the US government must investigate its own mistakes in making the Taliban more daring and rigid in their cruel ways. To accept defeat to brute Taliban is very unsafe for the free world. That is not the US leadership of the free world. The US wasted twenty years and they must take the responsibility to follow sensible politics and not abuse gun power. There is no doubt that the war has changed life for the good. We shall blame wrong military operations to be at fault. Sending more army or allowing Taliban a free hand is not the solution. But enough American soldiers should be stationed for the security of Afghan people.
